


Dogwalker boy

by shipsandglitter



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bratty!Cyrus, Cyrus gets less annoying I promisE, Dogwalker!TJ, Enemies to Lovers, First Kiss, Flirting, Fluff, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Romance, TJ and Marty are BFF's because I said so, TJ walks dogs for Cyrus' family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-03-07 14:58:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18875515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shipsandglitter/pseuds/shipsandglitter
Summary: “No need for a doorbell when people spend so long just staring,” he remarked, not missing a beat. TJ had to take a moment or two to process what was happening, blinking a few times in disbelief.The email had said Goodman. Goodman! Why hadn’t he made that connection? He was going to be walking dogs for this guy!~Or the one where TJ had successfully avoided Cyrus Goodman for most of his school years. That is - until he gets a new client for his dog-walking service.





	Dogwalker boy

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I know I haven't posted in a while, but I was suddenly hit with motivation to finish this oneshot. I hope the length makes up for it!

It was when the sun had fallen below the horizon that TJ finally traipsed up to the Goodman residence, tugging self-consciously at his jacket as he went. The dark clouds above him were tinged with pink as the last remnants of natural light began to fade, and TJ came to an abrupt stop outside of the gates to observe the place for a moment, slightly awe-struck.

It was  _huge_.

Really - TJ shouldn’t have been overly surprised. If these people were paying someone to walk their dogs for them, then they wouldn’t exactly be strapped for cash. It was almost like a small mansion with it’s grand looking front door, it’s neatly kept garden and it’s two towering stories, each with large windows that showcased the modern-looking interior. TJ took a few more moments to just gawk, feeling somewhat like an idiot, before stepping up to the front door and raising a hand to press the doorbell.

The  _golden_ doorbell, TJ noted with a small laugh, but the smile was wiped right off his face when the door was thrown open all of a sudden. Light flooded the porch, and to TJ’s shock Cyrus Goodman was stood in front of him, regarding him with a look of pointed disinterest.

“No need for a doorbell when people spend so long just staring,” he remarked, not missing a beat. TJ had to take a moment or two to process what was happening, blinking a few times in disbelief.

The email had said Goodman. _Goodman!_  Why hadn’t he made that connection? He was going to be walking dogs for this guy!

Despite the realization, TJ tried to remain at least somewhat composed. The very last thing he wanted to do was seem even a tiny bit fazed, so he settled on raising an eyebrow.

“It wasn’t that long, Goodman. Is your mom home?”

Cyrus just smiled. “You know me?”

“Who doesn’t?” TJ responded with a scoff.

Cyrus looked far too pleased by the words, which TJ really should’ve anticipated. He took a deep, centering breath and forced himself to return the smile, even if it was sarcastic. He had never interacted with Cyrus before, but from this encounter alone he could confidently say he wanted to keep their exchanges minimal

He opened his mouth to ask if the boy had even heard his question, but before he could Cyrus was turning on his heel and stalking back down the hallway. TJ just looked after him, a ghost of an amused smile on his face. A minute or so went by before he heard footsteps again, slower and more purposeful than Cyrus’ had been.

“Hi TJ!” he heard before his eyes landed on a friendly, slightly frazzled-looking woman.

He smiled warmly and held out a hand as she approached. “Hi, Mrs. Goodman. How are you?”

“Great!”

She stopped at the doorway and accepted his handshake with a smile. Up close, TJ couldn’t help but notice how exhausted she looked, her face slightly grey and her gaze tired. Unknowingly, his smile took a sympathetic edge.

“So you expressed an interest in having both of your dogs walked?” he asked.

She nodded, and TJ pulled his phone from his pocket to begin taking notes.

“For an hour four nights a week?”

“If it’s possible, then that’d be great. My son is home most nights so he can let you in to get the leashes.”

TJ nodded, trying hard to keep his expression as cheery as possible. “It’s possible! Does two nights during the week and both days on the weekend work for you?”

She nodded again, and TJ tapped a note into his phone.

“The leashes are right here,” she said, taking a small step back and gesturing to the display cabinet. “If you have trouble, you can always ask Cyrus.”

TJ smiled and produced a card from his pocket, handing it over her. “Thank you, Mrs.Goodman. This has my number and my parents’ numbers if you ever need anything while I’m walking,” he explained.

She smiled as she took it. “Great. Does this Tuesday sound okay for the first day?”

“Yup! I can do Tuesday.”

“Cool. I’ll see you then!”

TJ nodded and gave a small wave as the door closed, glancing about for a moment before turning and walking back towards the street. He wasn’t sure if it was a trick of the light, but for a moment he swore he could see Cyrus looking after him through the window. It was cold out now though, and TJ had no interest in sticking around longer than he needed to so he opened the front gate and began walking back to his place.

 

 _Walking dogs for Cyrus Goodman,_ he mused.  _What could go wrong?_

 

~

 

TJ had tried very hard to ignore Cyrus Goodman’s existence throughout the years, and he could practically feel all of his efforts unravelling before his eyes the very next day. His eyes seemed to have a mind of their own, following him and his friends wherever they went. It was ridiculous quite frankly, and TJ wanted nothing more than to dump an ice bucket over his own head to snap himself out of it.

Physically, Cyrus didn’t appear very threatening. Not really. He was fairly short if you asked TJ, with wide brown eyes that seemed to just scream innocence. It was his attitude and the people he hung out with that ultimately earned him his reputation at school as someone who shouldn’t be crossed. Apart from the very specific group of people he associated with, Cyrus mostly preferred to spend his days alone. If his eyes screamed innocence, then the way he sat at lunch - or at any time for that matter - screamed ‘don’t come up to me or else.’ TJ had always found comfort in other people, so it puzzled him slightly that someone could be seemingly content with spending so much time alone.

He didn’t like feeling lonely. He didn’t like the dull ache it created in his chest, or the emptiness it filled him to the brim with. He was always filling his schedule to avoid lonely moments, because to TJ there was absolutely nothing worse.

 

When Cyrus waltzed into 6th-period geography class, exuding an air of confidence that TJ couldn’t help but think was mostly an act with how fragile it seemed, he looked over at Reed. His friend was sat with a boy whose name TJ couldn’t remember for the life of him, looking back at Cyrus as though he was about to burst into laughter.

 _‘Screw you,’_ Cyrus mouthed, earning him a snort from Reed as he glanced about the room, clearly running through the available seating options in his head. His eyes swept over TJ at first, moving onto the girl in front of him, before landing on him again a few moments later. TJ met his gaze with an equal amount of scrutiny, an eyebrow raised challengingly as though  _daring_  him to take the spot next to him.

Cyrus smiled slightly and did just that, walking right up to him and dumping his books down. “I remember you now Kippen,” he said.

TJ just stared at him, slightly puzzled. “You didn’t before?”

Cyrus shrugged. “You look different without gel in your hair. And with glasses on.”

“Not that different,” TJ mumbled, earning himself another bright smile.

Marty arrived fashionably late as always, much to TJ’s dismay. He shot daggers at the boy as he walked past his desk, silently trying to communicate the fact that he should’ve somehow predicted that Cyrus would sit next to him, to which Marty just laughed and ruffled his hair.

“Marty! Seeing as you’ve decided to join us now, would you care to explain what the message of last week’s documentary was?”

TJ heard a loud sigh from behind him, and he had to bring a hand up to his mouth to stifle his laughter.

“Um...that climate change is real?”

Sniggers erupted from the class, but they were silenced almost immediately with one pointed look from the teacher. Cyrus glanced back at the boy in obvious amusement, before raising his hand into the air.

“Goodman! Would you like to expand?”

“I don’t really think they were trying to prove that climate change was real - they were operating on the basis that it is. Also - they pretty much flat out said that the start of the documentary that their aim was to investigate climate change beyond the simple question of whether it’s real or not. Of course, I’m sure Marty was paying  _very_ close attention to that.”

“That’s a lot of sarcasm for someone so small, Goodman!” Marty called, and TJ had to bury his head in his hands to hide the grimace on his face. He loved his friend more than anything, but he got bored very easily. And when he got bored, he had a tendency to just fall asleep.  _Even_  during class.

“That was unnecessary,” TJ mumbled once everyone had settled down again.

“What was?” came the sugary sweet response.

Cyrus glanced over at him, his brown eyes sparkling, and TJ pointedly directed his gaze towards the teacher again. It was too early for any of this if you asked him.

When the bell rang, TJ watched as Cyrus got up from his chair, an easy smile on his lips.

“See you later, dogwalker boy.”

 

~

 

TJ found himself lingering in front of the Goodman residence that Tuesday much like he had a few days prior, eyeing the door warily. He was bracing himself for Cyrus to appear in the doorway again, all confident smiles and snarky remarks, and he honestly didn’t know if he had the capacity to deal with that. Eventually, when standing there began to feel downright creepy, he stepped up to the front door with a smile plastered on his face and knocked gently.

Surprisingly enough, after a few moments he was greeted with one of Mrs.Goodman’s tired smiles.

“Hey TJ! Thanks for coming.”

TJ’s forced smile relaxed a little. “Hey, Mrs.Goodman. How are you?”

“I’m okay,” she responded with a small sigh, stepping back to grab the dog leashes that had been tossed onto the display cabinet. “I think Cyrus will be home soon, so he can let you in when you come back. The dogs are through the back gate - they shouldn’t give you too much trouble, they’re pretty well behaved.”

TJ nodded as she handed the leashes over, glancing briefly about the hallway. He couldn’t see a thing out of place or a surface that wasn’t spotless, which he couldn’t help but find somewhat unsettling. There were various landscapes hung up on the wall too, all perfectly straight. His house was laughable in comparison when it came to tidiness, but it was something he had grown to appreciate over the years.

“Great! I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

Her smile was grateful as she placed a hand on the doorframe. “Thanks, TJ.”

TJ gave one last wave before turning around again, leashes in hand as he made his way over to the gate. The sun was hung low in the sky, and a pleasant evening breeze was beginning to rustle the nearby trees. He was wearing a long-sleeve shirt for once, which he couldn’t say was a regular occurrence. Amber constantly scolded him for his aversion to them.

The sound of playful yipping became increasingly louder as he approached, looking through the small hole in the gate fondly before opening it and stepping inside.

“Hey guys,” he laughed, immediately being pounced on by the larger dog.

It took a few minutes to get their leashes secured due to their excitement, but eventually, TJ was walking back out again, a smaller brown puppy and a larger spotted dog in tow. He made his way back over to the front gate, laughing slightly at the realization that he didn’t even know their names.

He came to an abrupt halt once he had stepped out onto the sidewalk, the dogs yipping curiously by his feet.

 

It was Cyrus. Except - this wasn’t the Cyrus he was used to seeing.

 

The Cyrus that was currently walking towards him had puffy red eyes and tear-stained cheeks, wiping furiously at his face with the sleeve of his sweater. TJ couldn’t do anything for a moment but watch, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. The boy was quick to notice him standing there once he concentrated ahead again, and he too came to an abrupt stop.

There they were - stood a few feet apart, staring at one another as though they had never met once in their lives. Miraculously enough, TJ was the first to speak up.

“No snarky remark?”

That seemed to kick Cyrus back into action because he straightened his shoulders and leveled TJ with what he could only assume was supposed to an intimidating look.

“You and your damn good-will shirt need to get out of my way Kippen,” he huffed out, ignoring the dogs completely as he swept forward and pushed past the boy. TJ looked after him for a few lingering moments, feeling more bewildered than anything.

“Nice talking to you too!” he called out, shaking his head as he turned back to the sidewalk.

Cyrus Goodman?  _Crying?_

Okay - TJ was well aware that all people had emotions, but he just didn’t see Cyrus as someone who would escape the house just to cry his eyes out for a while, and from how red his face was - he had  _definitely_  been crying his eyes out for a while.

The whole situation left him feeling somewhat rattled as he began jogging slightly to catch up to the over-excited dogs.

 _Whatever,_ he thought to himself after about ten minutes of internal debate, watching as they happily ran around the park.  _This was still Cyrus Goodman. He shouldn’t be concerned. Right?_

He hadn’t even fully registered the fact that he was calling Marty until his voice sounded from the phone, asking curiously what was up.

“Nothing! It’s just...okay, you know my dog-walking thing?”

“I know your dog-walking thing,” Marty confirmed with a slight laugh.

“Well, I’m sort of maybe walking dogs for Cyrus’ parents.”

“You’re  _what?!_ ” Marty practically yelled, which had TJ pulling the phone away from his ear with a wince.

“Seriously dude?”

“Right! Sorry. Indoor voice. So how’s walking dogs for Cyrus ‘I’m richer than all of you’ Goodman?”

TJ couldn’t help but snort. “It’s fine. But...I saw him come home crying a few minutes ago. It seemed pretty full on.”

“That’s a shame. I bet his parents probably brought him knock-off Gucci slides by accident instead of the real thing.”

“ _Marty!_ ”

“I’m sorry, but come on! Do you expect me to feel sorry for this guy?”

TJ collapsed down on the park bench, making sure to keep an eye on the dogs. The sky had darkened by now, and street lamps were beginning to light up the sidewalk.

“No…” he relented with a sigh. “I guess not.”

“You care too much about other people, Teej. He’ll be fine.”

“You’re right. I mean - he barely acknowledged my existence up until a few days ago. Why should I care?”

“Exactly!”

TJ let out a heavy breath, gazing out at the empty field for a moment. “Okay thanks, Marty. See you at school tomorrow?”

“I’ll see you then, dude.”

TJ ended the call and stood up once again, walking over to play with the dogs and very deliberately thinking about anything that  _wasn’t_ Cyrus Goodman. After all, chances were he’d be back to his annoying self the following day anyway.

 

~

 

TJ couldn’t have been more correct in his own opinion - Cyrus was very quick to get back to his usual self the following day, and it had Marty elbowing him playfully as they walked through the corridor.

“You were  _calling_ me about this guy about 12 hours ago.”

“Shut up,” TJ mumbled back, glancing nervously over at Amber.

“Wait - _who_  was TJ calling about?” she asked suddenly, to which TJ could only give a slight grimace.

He opened his mouth to say something, trying hard to come up with words that wouldn’t make his sister completely take things out of context and get her hopes up. She was always asking him if he liked anyone yet, collapsing back onto his bed with a groan whenever she received the usual ‘no, Amber. I don’t like anyone.’

Luckily (or unluckily depending on how you look at it), Cyrus waltzed right up to them at that moment, keeping his gaze firmly on Reed as though neither of them were there. He pushed past both of them, separating the pair slightly as a result. TJ could practically feel the annoyance Marty was radiating as Reed sniggered off to the side, and he braced himself for some kind of outburst.

“What are we -  _invisible_ or something?” Marty asked him forcefully, whirling around to look after the boy.

Cyrus came to a stop, and TJ didn’t even have to see his face to know he was wearing a smug smile.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said, tone mocking, not sparing any of them a glance as he walked away. Reed jogged slightly to catch up, throwing an arm over the boy’s shoulders with a loud laugh.

“Asshole,” Marty mumbled, and TJ couldn’t help but nod along in agreement.

Amber looked after Cyrus for a moment, a slight smile on her lips, before directing her gaze towards TJ again. There was something there that TJ had no interest in examining.

“Nice weather, huh?” she asked them, gesturing to the clear blue sky outside.

TJ exchanged a puzzled look with Marty but decided against saying anything in response. Instead, he pulled his phone from his pocket and glanced down at his timetable.

“English then lunch,” he said with a sigh. “That is - If I survive.”

“At least you did the essay,” Marty groaned.

TJ gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, laughing slightly to himself as he stopped in front of his locker.

 

So what if he was slightly preoccupied that English lesson? It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Cyrus Goodman was sat right in front of him, leaned casually back against the chair without a care in the world and sending TJ furtive glances every once in a while. Nope - TJ did not care one bit. In fact, he cared so  _little_  about Cyrus Goodman that he pointedly moved to a different desk - one near the back of the room - and kept his gaze very firmly on the whiteboard, ignoring every single one of Cyrus’ amused glances towards him.

Lunchtime found him in the library, loading a few of his borrowed books onto the return trolley. His mind had felt everywhere that day to the point where not even History could focus it, and that was saying something.

He didn’t know what made him do it in the end. He’d like to blame it on curiosity, but really - was curiosity responsible for the way he walked right up to Cyrus while he was at the front desk with a book?

The boy noticed him immediately, sending him a confused glance. TJ ignored this and looked down at the book Cyrus was borrowing.

“I’ve read that one,” he said quietly, voice uncharacteristically timid.

Cyrus dragged his eyes over to TJ, his gaze scrutinizing. He took a few moments before responding.

“I’m not borrowing it for me. It’s for someone else.”

TJ raised his arms in mock surrender, giving the boy a playful smile. “Totally,” he agreed with a firm nod. “You’re not gonna read it at all.”

“Nope.”

“Cool.”

Cyrus bit his lip slightly to contain the smile threatening to appear on his face. TJ could barely hide his amusement.

“Well...I’ll see you around,” he said quickly, turning around and walking away before he could find more ways to embarrass himself completely.

_What had gotten into him?_

He thought about it for a moment, and all his unhelpful brain could come up with was ‘Cyrus Goodman.’

TJ wanted to forcibly remove that part of his brain, but that would probably cause more trouble than it was worth. Instead, he settled on buying some coffee after school and sitting with Amber at home, painting her nails as she spoke about her day. TJ had been getting better recently, which was probably the only reason she trusted him to do it.

“So what’s up with that Cyrus guy?” she asked all of a sudden, and TJ started slightly, removing his hand to avoid messing up the nail polish.

“Nothing! I’m just walking dogs for him. He’s an asshole.”

Amber hummed. “Yeah, he is. Kinda cute though, right?”

“Wrong,” TJ deadpanned, looking up at her with a smile. “Black or white dots?”

“Um...black, it goes with the purple. Also come on, not even a  _little_  cute?”

“Not even a little cute,” TJ confirmed, shifting forward on the couch slightly.

“Well...I think he’s gay. Or at least bi.”

TJ couldn’t help but laugh, raising an amused eyebrow at his sister. “You get vibes?”

“Major vibes,” she responded, nodding wisely.

TJ paused for a moment to think the words over, humming thoughtfully to himself. “I get vibes too, actually,” he decided, switching Amber’s left hand out for her right.

“So…”

“So...what?”

Amber just shook her head though, giving him a wide smile. “Nothing.”

 

~

 

TJ was prepared this time as he approached Cyrus’ house, walking right up to the front door without thinking too much about it and knocking a few times. The response was surprisingly quick, and within a few moments, Cyrus was stood in front of him once again. Neither of them had acknowledged Cyrus’ state a few days ago and honestly, TJ was fairly certain it’d be something they never brought up.

He forced a smile. “Hi. Can I have the leashes?”

Cyrus nodded, wordlessly turning around to grab them from the display cabinet.

TJ hesitated for a moment. “...Why don’t your parents get you to walk the dogs?”

Cyrus turned back to him immediately, his eyebrows raised in what seemed to be a mixture of surprise and amusement.

“Because I’m busy,” he responded, handing over the leashes.

“Busy with what?”

Cyrus smiled. “Having a life.”

TJ scoffed, shaking his head as he made his way over to the gate.

“You’re funny, Goodman.”

“I know.”

He heard a slight thud behind him as the door was pulled closed again. TJ took a deep breath and opened the gates, unable to keep from smiling when the dogs bounded up to him.

The walk went by significantly quicker than it did last time, with Marty calling him to chat about halfway through. It was a clear day that day, and he spent a solid twenty minutes running about the local park with Jack and Frankie (as he had discovered after sending an awkward text to Mrs.Goodman.) By the time he reached the Goodman residence again, he was puffed out, to say the least.

TJ knocked a few times after he had safely led the dogs back to the garden, but there didn’t seem to be any response. He waited for a few minutes, knocking occasionally, before shrugging to himself and placing the leashes on the ground. He rummaged around for a pen and a spare receipt, writing a quick ‘here you go, asshole’ on it and leaving it on top of the leashes. He knew for a fact that Cyrus was still home, so it’d only be a matter of time before he came downstairs. (Or at least - TJ hoped.)

As suspected, Cyrus came padding down the moment TJ had begun walking out of the gate and down the sidewalk. He glanced back at the boy for a moment, watching as he bent down to pick up the note. A smile came to Cyrus’ lips, and he looked up immediately to meet TJ’s gaze. His hair was wet, so TJ could only assume he’d been showering, and even from a distance, his brown eyes seemed to be sparkling.

He brought a hand up to give a quick wave, smiling cheekily, before turning around and walking away.

Cyrus Goodman did not have nice eyes, he told himself pointedly all the way home.

_Absolutely not._

 

~

 

“Before we look at ‘A Streetcar Named Desire,’ it’s important to consider some historical context. As many of you know, Tennessee Williams was a gay man-“

That caught TJ’s interest, and apparently, he wasn’t the only one because a group of boys towards the back of the classroom burst into sniggers.

The teacher came to a halt, looking pointedly at the group. “Problem, boys?” he asked them.

TJ sank down in his chair with an audible sigh, preparing himself for the nonsense they were inevitably going to spew.

The ringleader - Anthony - had a carelessly smug smile on his lips. “Not at all, sir. I guess we just don’t really get why we needed to know that. It’s kind of irrelevant.”

Before the teacher could respond, Cyrus of all people sat up, turning in his chair to give Anthony an exasperated look.

“If you morons had actually read the play you’d know it’s basically implied that Blanche’s ex-husband was gay, which was huge considering it was such a taboo. Sorry you had to be torn out of your world where every historical figure is straight.”

TJ was grinning by the time  _Cyrus_ had finished talking, which earned him a bewildered look from Marty. Cyrus caught his eye for a brief moment before turning away, biting back a smile of his own.

“Whatever Goodman,” Anthony mumbled.

The teacher seemed torn between telling Cyrus off and praising him, which created awkward silence for a moment as he tried to decide. Eventually, he gave a curt nod and turned back to the whiteboard.

“Thank you, Cyrus. Continuing on! The play was written by Williams just after World War 2, when the United States was…”

TJ grabbed a pen and began writing, still smiling to himself. Cyrus sent him an amused glance, and he quickly tried to wipe it off his face.

 _Okay, so Cyrus wasn’t a homophobic jerk. That_ still _didn’t make him any less pretentious._

The following period was geography, which just so happened to be one of the three classes he shared with Cyrus. The air conditioner was on full blast when he walked in to combat the stifling heat that had set in over the course of the day. TJ was fanning himself as he sat down next to Marty, letting out a dramatic groan.

“Who gave mother nature the right?”

“No one,” Marty sighed, draping himself over the desk. “Absolutely no one.”

It was a few minutes later that the teacher walked in, setting up the projection screen and rotating her chair to face the class. Cyrus pushed through the door just as she opened her mouth to speak, which TJ couldn’t help but think was somewhat of an accomplishment considering their English class had to be about 10 meters away from their geography class.

He smiled apologetically as he threw his books down onto the desk beside Reed. “Sorry, Miss.”

She shook her head slightly, but apart from that didn’t react at all - most teachers seemed to have grown used to Cyrus’ antics.

“As I was saying, I’ve split you guys into small groups to brainstorm a chosen topic about the areas of concern for developing countries - all on the posters around the room. Group 1, you’ll be the back right corner, group 2, the left back corner, group 3, the front right corner and group 4, the front left corner. We’ll go for about 20 minutes before we present to the class.”

TJ glanced over at Marty, a slight smile tugging at his lips. “She separated us.”

“Oh, definitely.”

TJ wasn’t surprised when an excel spreadsheet was projected onto the whiteboard featuring TJ in group 2 and Marty in group 3. He understood in a way; they did make quite the chaotic duo, but it still sucked nonetheless. He stood up reluctantly from his chair and made his way over to the back corner, collapsing down onto a chair by the window.

Cyrus stood from his a chair a moment later, glancing about the room, and when his eyes fell on TJ he immediately began to smile.

“Hey, dogwalker boy!”

TJ rolled his eyes as the boy made his over, pulling out the chair beside him and sitting down.

“Hey asshole,” he bit back, equally as sarcastic.

It was just his luck that Cyrus Goodman would be in a group with him, so TJ couldn’t say he was surprised. About 5 other people eventually sat down around the table and began discussing the topic, brainstorming ideas on the poster paper. TJ had to take a moment to psych himself up before slowly sitting upright in his chair and leaning forward, reading over the poster.

‘Maternal Mortality’ was their point of discussion -something they had looked at in the previous lesson. TJ racked his memory for any key terms, trying hard to contribute and write things down when he could. Cyrus, being the infuriating person that he was, seemed to have memorized the whole chapter and was more than happy to fill in a majority of the poster.

TJ would love to say that he’d written notes for Geography last night, but if he were being honest he’d spent it completing his history essay way before it was due. He definitely had his priorities in check.

Somehow he ended up sneaking glances at Cyrus, unable to fully comprehend how quickly the boy could go from being a pretentious asshole to a cheery team player. TJ knew he was busted when Cyrus caught his eye, biting back laughter and giving his foot a playful kick under the table.

“Are you in a trance or what, Kippen?”

TJ just shrugged, redirecting his focus toward the poster. A (slightly idiotic) idea struck him after a few minutes, and he tore off one of his small notebook pages.

_Did you like the book?_

TJ had honestly meant it to be teasing, but deep down he was actually curious. He slid the note over to Cyrus, who gave him a confused look before unfolding and scanning over it. He let out an amused exhale, playfully taking TJ’s pen from him and turning the paper over.

_I would say that I didn’t read it, but you seem good at picking up lies for some reason (that wasn’t a compliment so don’t you dare take it as one.) It was cute. It was gay. What else do you want me to say?_

As TJ read over it, he could barely fight back a wide smile. A foreign, fluttery feeling filled his stomach, which he could only assume was because of the stifling heat.

_Have you seen the movie based on it?_

Cyrus casually took the note again, somehow managing to keep up his conversation with another student about the ways in which maternal mortality rates could be decreased in developing countries.

_Nah, I wanted to read the book first. Is it good? I really didn’t think you’d be into romcoms, Kippen_

TJ would’ve written a note back, but their teacher chose that exact moment to walk up to their group and check in on how things were going. He settled on directing a nod at Cyrus, who smirked slightly in response. TJ leaned forward again and picked up his pen, trying hard to focus at the task on hand rather than...you know...annoying boys with bright brown eyes.

As TJ walked along the corridor with Marty, he felt a gentle hand tug on his arm. He whirled around, his eyebrows furrowed with confusion, only to be met with a smiling Cyrus. Marty had managed to separate himself from the crowd and was now looking at the duo in pure bewilderment.

“I was just thinking - maybe we should exchange numbers? You know, in case you accidentally kill my dogs while you’re out or something.”

TJ could hardly believe his ears. He blinked for a moment or two, wondering if this was really  _Cyrus_  he was speaking to.

“I mean...I have your mom’s number in case something goes wrong.”

“Yeah, well...she might not be home.”

TJ couldn’t help the smirk that was slowly appearing on his face now. He brought a hand up to inspect his nails, trying hard to exaggerate a look of consideration.

“Does Cyrus Goodman give out his phone number to everyone? Should I feel honored?”

The boy just rolled his eyes, gently tugging TJ towards the wall to avoid the stampede of students.

“You’re annoying, you know that?”

“You’re stuck-up, you know that?” TJ fired back, not missing a beat. He was still smiling slightly, and it was probably apparent that the words didn’t hold any real heat.

“You’re infuriatingly nice, you know that?”

“Well,  _you’re_ infuriatingly…” TJ trailed off, unsure of what to say. For a brief moment, it had almost seemed like his brain wanted to fill in that blank with the word  _‘cute’_ , and TJ had never had such a strong urge to bang his head against the nearest wall. He remained like that for a moment, his mouth parted slightly in shock.

Cyrus was smirking now, giving him a knowing look. He raised an eyebrow in challenge.

“Infuriatingly  _what, Kippen_?”

TJ just shook his head, ridding himself of the thought. “Nothing,” he insisted, pulling out one of their notes from class and scrawling down his number.

He quickly handed it over to Cyrus, completely avoiding eye contact.

“See you, Goodman.”

With that, he was rushing back over to Marty and pulling him down the corridor. He could practically feel the boy’s curious gaze on him as he walked away.

“It was just for the dog walking thing,” he insisted somewhat desperately, to which Marty gave a slow nod.

“I feel so bad for you, dude. Dealing with that guy must be a chore,” he said, giving TJ a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

TJ glanced back once more, only to find that Cyrus had already disappeared.

“Yeah…” he trailed off, turning back to Marty with a half-hearted smile. “Really annoying.”

 

~

 

TJ knew it was going to begin pouring rain. He knew this well, and yet he  _still_  decided to go out and walk the dogs, equipped with nothing but a flimsy umbrella. Booming claps of thunder were sounding by the time he reached Cyrus’ place, his breathing slightly labored as he jogged up the porch. He put his umbrella down, not caring at that about getting wet when it was pretty inevitable. The grey clouds blanketing the sky created a gloomy atmosphere, with no people or cars in sight as it began to bucket down. TJ cursed his indifference to rain as he took the dogs over to the backyard, leading them over to the sheltered balcony. Droplets were falling onto his hair as he closed the gate behind him again, approaching the front door to put away the leashes. To his surprise, the porch was flooded with warm light and Cyrus was stood in the doorway, rugged up in a knitted sweater. He spent a few moments just taking TJ in, clearly weighing something up in his head.

TJ cleared his throat and held out the leashes. “Here you go.”

Cyrus took them and placed them on top of the display case, quickly directing his gaze back to TJ.

“You can come in until it stops raining.”

TJ waved off the offer. “Nah, I’ll be fine.”

He turned to walk away then, but Cyrus gently grabbed his arm, stopping him. Despite knowing well that he was  _definitely_ the stronger one in this situation, he turned back around to give Cyrus a questioning look.

“Don’t be an idiot, Kippen.”

TJ couldn’t help but smile slightly. He folded his arms and raised a challenging eyebrow. “I’ll come inside if you call me TJ instead.”

Cyrus scoffed. “Seriously?”

“Seriously,” TJ confirmed.

Cyrus stepped back slightly, clearly contemplating the proposal. TJ could practically see the gears in his head turning, and he found himself wondering why calling someone by their first name seemed to be such a big deal.

Eventually, after seconds seemed to have stretched into minutes, Cyrus let out an exasperated sigh. “You’re so dumb. Get your ass in here TJ, or I’ll drag you in myself.”

TJ grinned and set down his umbrella again, more than happy to comply. He toed his shoes off before following Cyrus inside and closing the door gently behind him. There were varying display cabinets pushed up against the wall, and he found himself wondering yet again how a place could possibly look this spotless all the time. It seemed almost sterile, with the large white tiles and the white walls and the minimalist furniture. The only things that seemed to hold character were the paintings and the photos hung up about the place, all of Cyrus when he was younger.

He followed Cyrus into the kitchen, which was just as spotless as the rest of the house was. He hovered awkwardly around the counter at first, not quite knowing what to do, but Cyrus gestured to a bar stool in front of the island with a laugh.

“You can sit down.”

TJ bit his lip and did just that, playing with his hands as he watched Cyrus flit around the kitchen.

“Do you want some hot chocolate?”

“Yeah, sure! Do you happen to have any milk that isn’t dairy though? Sorry, that probably sounds pretentious-”

“Is soy milk okay?”

Cyrus was smiling at him now, except it wasn’t the smug smile TJ was used to seeing from him. It seemed softer now; kinder. He quickly nodded, and Cyrus walked back over to the kettle. TJ knew it probably would’ve best for him to check his phone, or look around at all the paintings, or do anything that  _wasn’t_  staring at Cyrus and taking note of how nice his hair looked flattened against his forehead without gel. TJ shook off the thought, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

It was a matter of minutes before Cyrus was walking around the island to take the seat beside him, setting their drinks down on the counter.

“Thanks,” TJ murmured.

Cyrus just nodded, seeming awfully quiet for someone who was usually so loud. TJ’s eyes began to wander about the house. He hesitated for a moment, turning in his chair to face Cyrus.

“So what do you normally do for fun around here?”

Cyrus shrugged. “Homework."

TJ couldn’t help but laugh. “ _Surely_ that’s not it. There’s no way Cyrus Goodman spends his free time solely doing homework.”

He thought it was a trick of the light at first, but after a few seconds, it became very apparent that Cyrus was blushing. TJ, who was conveniently ignoring his brain’s (outrageous) suggestion that Cyrus looked cute at that moment, couldn’t help but smirk slightly.

“Okay, well now I’m curious. Don’t leave me hanging here!”

“Asshole,” Cyrus began to laugh, but his gaze was soft. “I draw sometimes. And paint.”

TJ usually wasn’t big on stereotypes, but holy hell those were the last words he was expecting. It took a few moments of blank staring for him to actually collect himself again.

“You... _draw?_ And paint?”

Cyrus nodded, and TJ found himself reexamining the paintings that were hung up around the house. “Did you paint any of these?”

“I don’t know,” Cyrus shrugged, giving TJ a playful smile. “Did I?”

“For some strange reason, I feel like you did. You’re kind of bad at hiding things.”

“Hey - I’m great at hiding things!”

TJ just hummed playfully, eyeing Cyrus as he took a sip of his hot chocolate.

Silence fell for a few moments. The sounds of the fridge running filled the air around them, and TJ began to wonder what being in this place alone would feel like. It was nice, but it was also massive and it wasn’t exactly homely. Surely being alone here would feel… well… lonely.

He was blurting the question before he could even fully process it.

“Are you alone here a lot?”

Cyrus, who was raising his cup to his mouth, hastily set it down again. He seemed tense all of a sudden, and TJ almost wanted to apologize for the potentially intrusive question.

As he opened his mouth to do so, Cyrus spoke up.

“My parents are busy a lot, so yeah...but it’s fine, I like being alone.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. It’s kind of comforting, you know?”

TJ thought about to the times he had felt alone, and he could honestly say nothing about it was good for him. He knew there were people who needed alone time to recharge and sure, he did too, but for some reason even then he couldn’t seem to stand it. He always liked having someone’s presence there at the very least, even if they weren’t talking.

“That’s good I guess.”

Cyrus smiled then, but TJ couldn’t help but notice it didn’t quite reach his eyes the way it normally did. Not that TJ paid attention to Cyrus’ smiles or anything.

He took a long sip of his hot chocolate, thinking up ways he could change the topic to something lighter. After a few moments, a bright smile lit up his face.

“I have an idea! You can teach me some art skills.”

Cyrus snorted. “Yeah, no offense but I’ve seen your seventh-grade art hanging up on the wall. I don’t think I can help you.”

TJ immediately burst into laughter. “Everyone’s art was shit in seventh grade!” he exclaimed between giggles.

Cyrus seemed to be struggling to contain a fond smile. “Mine wasn’t!”

TJ calmed down after a few moments, shaking his head. “Judging my current art abilities based on the past art abilities is just plain wrong, Goodman.”

“Well, can you prove me wrong?”

“Not at all.”

Cyrus laughed as he hopped down from his seat, taking another sip of his hot chocolate. He looked over at TJ for a moment, clearly contemplating. TJ averted his gaze to the counter. That foreign feeling was back in his stomach, and it was honestly becoming kind of worrying. Amber had always described feeling ‘butterflies’ in her stomach when she was around Andi, but that would mean…

No. You’re just overheating again.

Cyrus walked over to TJ and held out a hand. “Okay, dogwalker boy. I guess showing you a thing or two wouldn’t hurt.”

TJ smiled and took his hand, allowing himself to be pulled up the stairs and into the first room to the right. It seemed to be the only room he had been in so far that wasn’t spotless, with painted blue walls, a black desk with paint stains all of it, newspaper piled in the corner and various art supplies stuffed into a drawer beside the desk.

“Welcome to my art room!”

TJ smiled slightly as he observed the place. There was a lamp by his desk filling the room with warm light, and he already felt significantly more at home than he did in other parts of the house.

Cyrus watched as TJ rotated on the spot, looking somewhat stunned. It  _had_  to be about the size of two medium sized bedrooms - and it wasn’t even his bedroom!

“I know what you’re thinking - is he really that rich?”

TJ just smiled and shook his head. “More like ‘am I really that poor?’”

Cyrus snorted as he walked up to his desk, grabbing a few supplies. He dumped them on the ground and walked over to grab what seemed to be a table top propped up against the wall, laying it down flat on the ground and covering it with newspaper. He placed two pillows on either side and gestured for TJ to sit.

TJ, who was still in slight shock, wandered over to the set-up and sat down one of the pillows. He thought back to his first actual interaction with Cyrus a few weeks ago - where Cyrus had seemed completely closed off. Now here he was, about to show TJ some  _painting_  techniques. It was all dizzying in a way that should’ve been overwhelming but somehow wasn’t. He was going with the flow completely now, not holding back, and as much as he hated admitting it he liked being around Cyrus. He  _liked_  being challenged, he  _liked_  the constant back-and-forths they shared. Scarily enough, he also liked this softer side of Cyrus.

“You know what I discovered yesterday?” Cyrus asked him as he sat down, his arms full of varying sized paint brushes.

“I don’t know - what _did_  you discover yesterday?”

“Kippen means ‘chickens’ in dutch."

TJ rolled his eyes despite the smile that was growing on his face. “Trust me, you’re not the first person to point that one out.”

“Okay but - TJ  _Chickens,_ ” Cyrus teased, bringing a hand up to stifle his laughter.

TJ tried his hardest to seem unimpressed, but it really didn’t work for him because he couldn’t seem to contain the smile on his face.

“What would be better, your head with a chicken’s body or your body with a chicken head? Oh my god - I  _have_  to draw that!”

“I thought this was supposed to be a free art lesson, not a ‘roast TJ’s last name session,’” he complained, folding his arms.

“Okay, okay, I’ll go get some water so we can start painting,” Cyrus relented, getting to his feet. “Can I please call you TJ Chickens, though?”

“Absolutely not,” TJ deadpanned, which had Cyrus laughing as he left the room. His laughter was still ringing about the house as he made his way downstairs, and TJ began smiling despite himself.

It was at that moment TJ decided that he  _much_  preferred Cyrus’ genuine laugh to the one he heard from him at school. He seemed happy rather than tense, and TJ was almost certain that a lot of people at school would be surprised to see Cyrus the way he was now.

The boy came back a few minutes later with a cup of water and a bag of sour straps. “I brought water and sugar,” he declared as he placed the bag onto the floor beside the table top, moving his pillow next to TJ and sitting down.

“Okay. Ready to become an artist, TJ Chickens?”

“Every time you call me that, you owe me one thousand dollars. Deal?”

“Okay, I’m not _that_ rich TJ."

Hearing Cyrus say his first name so casually should really not have made him feel so giddy.

“Oh? But I thought you  _were_ ‘ _that_ rich’?”

“Touche,” Cyrus conceded with a smile. “Can we lower it to a dollar anyway though?”

“I’ll accept that,” TJ agreed, holding out a hand.

“Pleasure doing business with you...TJ…” Cyrus said, accepting the handshake.

“Not willing to blow a dollar so soon?”

“It’ll be for special occasions,” Cyrus explained, smiling as he grabbed a paint brush. “Now. Are we ready?”

It was still pouring rain outside, with dark grey clouds in the sky and soft music emanating from TJ’s phone. It all felt somewhat surreal - sitting in Cyrus’ semi-mansion on a Saturday afternoon, but he was actually enjoying himself miraculously enough so he didn’t want to question it.

He gave Cyrus a bright smile. “We’re ready.”

 

~

 

Basketball drills.

TJ loved them, and in the least conceited way possible, he was pretty good at them too. He’d been on the school basketball team since seventh grade, and nothing had ever distracted him to the point where he somehow forgot everything he knew about the sport.

That was why he had no idea how he ended up the way he did during eighth period P.E., his heart hammering away in his chest as he stood there in front of Cyrus, who was on the opposing team trying to defend. It was like his limbs suddenly decided they had no interest in functioning and he was left there, the ball in his hands, that fluttery feeling in his stomach going crazy as Cyrus seemed to lean closer, and closer, and-

“Kippen! What’s going on?!”

He was so startled that he ended up dropping the ball, allowing Cyrus to swoop in and scoop it up, tossing it over to another teammate to deal with. He stood there for a moment in a complete daze, looking down at his hands then back up at Cyrus, whose brown eyes were alight with mischief. Never in his life had TJ lost that much control during a basketball drill, but he was concerningly unbothered by it. Cyrus was still looking at him, his smile slowly fading into something softer, and TJ had to turn away before he did something else completely stupid.

Amber jogged over to him, her eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement.

“What the hell happened? I mean, it’s just a drill so it doesn’t matter, but-” she cut herself off for some reason, and it took TJ a moment or two to figure out she was looking past his shoulder at Cyrus. She smiled slightly and gave him a reassuring pat on the back.

“Oh well. Everyone screws up.”

With that she was walking away again, her long blonde ponytail swishing behind her. TJ looked after her in confusion, before sighing heavily and shaking out his limbs.

_Get a grip, TJ._

Later on during practice throws, TJ and Cyrus were towards the corner of the gym away from everyone else, throwing a basketball between them. Neither of them were particularly focused on technique, however.

“I have a question...you don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to,” said TJ as he passed the ball.

Cyrus threw it back, eyebrows raised in question. “Hit me.”

“Well,” TJ held the ball for a moment, transferring it from hand to hand as he thought about what to say. “Do you remember that night we bumped into each other? I guess it kind of looked like...you had been crying? Maybe?”

He passed the ball again, and this time Cyrus held onto it for a moment. “Yeah...I remember.”

“Was there something wrong?”

Cyrus glanced around the hall then, ensuring that there was no one close enough to hear their conversation. He seemed to be satisfied because his gaze returned to TJ again as he passed the ball.

“It was nothing...just stuff with Reed. He was kind of being a jerk.”

“Oh. Are you okay now?”

Something about the words had Cyrus frowning slightly. “Not to be rude or anything but I’m just some asshole you walk dogs for and maybe got a few painting tips from. Why do you care?”

The words took TJ off guard. He turned them over in his head for a moment, trying to think up the most delicate response he possibly could. Why  _did_  he care about Cyrus? He had barely given him any reason to after all, but at the end of the day he didn’t like seeing anyone upset. He’d maintained the idea of Cyrus being an asshole for a majority of his schooling years, but for some reason he was actively beginning to seek out his company now;  _enjoying_  it even. Why did he feel so secure around someone he didn’t even know that well? That answer was beyond him.

TJ’s head was spinning at this point, but he tried not to let that show.

“You’re right,” he conceded, which made Cyrus smile slightly. “But...I don’t want you to be upset. I don’t really want anyone to be upset.”

Cyrus laughed a little, shaking his head as he caught TJ’s pass.

“Damn. Why do you have to be such a good person?”

“Was that a compliment?"

“Shut up,” Cyrus bit back, but the smile on his face made it very evident there was no heat behind the words.

Silence fell for a few minutes as they switched between varying types of passes, focusing more on technique now. The squeaking sounds of sneakers against the hardwood floor filled the Gymnasium, alongside chatter from the other students.

Cyrus looked hesitant when he spoke again, refusing to look at TJ as he held the ball in his hands. He transferred the ball from hand to hand, biting his lip.

“Um...TJ?”

“Yeah?”

“I would care if you were upset too. If it means anything.”

TJ’s smile at that was blinding. “Thanks, Cyrus.”

The boy returned his smile, and honestly - if TJ wasn’t confused before, he sure as hell was confused now.

 

~

 

The following Sunday was a cloudless day, pleasantly warm without being stiflingly hot. There were varying people taking advantage of the weather, out and about on the streets and visiting local parks. Cyrus’ smiles were getting softer each time he opened the door, gladly handing over the leashes and making conversation for a few minutes while TJ got the dogs prepared. He was walking toward the front gate, Jack and Frankie in tow, when Cyrus’ voice stopped him in his tracks.

“Wait - TJ...would I be able to come along?”

TJ couldn’t help but snort. “Of course you can come along, idiot.”

“Hey - words hurt!” said Cyrus, following TJ out of the front gate anyway. The boy just smiled and handed him the leash for Frankie, who was padding around excitedly and yipping at everything she saw, and soon enough they were on their way.

“So where are we off to, TJ Chicken?”

“One dollar! Pay up, rich boy.”

Cyrus just scoffed. “I didn’t say chicken with an ‘s’, so technically didn’t breach the contract.”

“That is such a rich person move,” TJ whined, giving him a playful shove.

Cyrus just laughed. “Fine, I promise I’ll buy you an ice cream, okay?”

“Deal accepted,” TJ responded almost instantly, “acceptable payment methods have now been amended to include ice creams.”

Cyrus laughed a little, glancing down bashfully at the ground as they continued to make their way. It was a busy Sunday, with families in particular out and about. Looking around, Cyrus’ neighbourhood seemed to be filled with houses that looked so similar to one another it was somewhat unnerving.

“You know that Reed situation?” Cyrus asked suddenly, taking TJ aback.

“Yeah?”

Cyrus was getting visibly nervous now, looking anywhere but the other boy.

“It was because his friend brought a gun while we were all hanging out. He made fun of me for leaving, then got angry because I told the cops. That day you saw me was the day right after...I kind of thought I had no friends left.”

TJ took a few seconds to process the information, a frown on his face. “Oh...that sucks. Like - a lot. He shouldn’t have done that.”

Cyrus nodded. “I know. But it kind of ended up being a good thing because I started talking more to these people from the school art club. Andi and Walker. Now I kinda wanna stop hanging out with Reed, but every time I try it’s like...I can’t. It’s what I’m used to.”

“Switching friendship groups is hard,” TJ agreed. “I guess you kind of have to wait until you feel confident you’ll have other people there. If it means anything, you can always hang out with us if you want. I mean - Marty will probably take some adjusting, but Amber would be cool with it.”

A soft smile came to Cyrus’ lips. “Thanks, TJ...Chickens.”

“Will that ever get old?” TJ asked with a laugh, giving him a playful shove.

“Literally never!”

TJ rolled his eyes at that, but deep down he was glad to see Cyrus smiling genuinely. Of course - it was purely because seeing anyone smiling was nice, not because Cyrus in particular just happened one of the most heart-melting, world-slowing smiles he’d ever seen.

That would be ridiculous.

 

~

 

“If someone bites their lip and plays with their hair while they’re talking to you, does that mean they like you?”

TJ honestly didn’t think he had seen Marty or Amber’s eyes go so wide. Marty lowered the sandwich he was about to take a bite of, staring at TJ in bewilderment, while Amber was sat next to him, looking shocked and vaguely impressed. There was stunned silence for a moment or two, but soon enough Marty was practically attacking him with questions.

“Who?! What?! Where?! When?!”

He laughed slightly to himself - he definitely should’ve expected this reaction. TJ was never one to speak about anything remotely romantic because he had honestly never really been interested. The night prior had consisted of an excessive amount of googling about how to recognize a crush on someone, and he had come to the conclusion that a) he was an idiot, and b) he was an idiot that had somehow managed to start crushing on Cyrus Goodman. The realization had kept him up pretty much all night, which was why he probably looked like a hot mess that day.

“It’s nothing! Or...maybe it’s something. I don’t know! I’m confused,” he complained, burying his face in his hands.

Marty and Amber exchanged an exasperated look, before getting up from their chairs and sitting on either side of TJ.

“Correct me if I’m wrong here, but...do you like someone?” Marty asked.

TJ sighed heavily and nodded, which had Marty letting out an impressively high-pitched squeal. Amber’s initial shock had faded completely by now, and it almost seemed as though she had known all along.

“In answer to your question - it depends on the context, but they could definitely be signs.”

“Of course,” Marty interjected, raising his eyebrows playfully. “It would help if we knew who the guy was.”

TJ fell silent at that. He could feel his face getting redder by the minute, which somehow seemed to be enough confirmation for Amber because a knowing smile was tugging at her lips.

“I knew it!”

“Knew what?” Marty demanded.

“Can I guess who it is?” Amber asked, addressing TJ.

TJ looked over at his sister, and that look alone confirmed to him that she knew. Amber nodded her head in Marty’s direction, and TJ hesitated for a moment before shrugging and nodding.

“Hey - no fair! I don’t have sibling telepathy like you guys do.”

Amber snorted at that, turning to face the boy. “Marty...I have some news that might shock you, so you might want to brace yourself against something.”

He gave both of them a bewildered look but leaned forward against the table anyway. TJ could feel his heart beating wildly away in his chest.

“TJ likes Cyrus.”

It was the equivalent to ripping off a band-aid, so much so that even TJ was shocked for a moment. Thinking about it was one thing, but hearing the words aloud somehow managed to make everything about ten times more real. Marty’s mouth fell open, and he spent a solid few moments gaping at Amber, then at TJ as though he’d laugh and say “April fools!”

Neither of them said anything though, and this realization very visibly swept over Marty’s face.

“Processing...processing...processing...TJ, what the  _hell?_ He’s an asshole!”

TJ nodded, understanding completely but not quite knowing how to explain himself.

“I know.”

“He’s annoying!”

“I know.”

“He wears Gucci slides to school!”

“I know, I know! It’s just...I just...I don’t know, it just happened! When I’m alone with him it’s like everything is just...nice, and he’s funny, and...I swear he’s not that much of an asshole when you get to know him,” TJ explained, somewhat desperately.

Marty nodded slowly, clearly taking the words in. Amber wrapped an arm around TJ and gently rested her head on his shoulder.

“Okay…” he said after a moment, inhaling deeply.

“Okay?”

“You can’t help how you feel, TJ, and you know...I guess he’s kind of cute if you look at him objectively. Plus he’s rich which means if you marry him I’ll have a rich best friend-”

“Marty!” TJ laughed, more relieved than anything. “If I get rich, then you’re only getting a dollar.”

“What about your will?” he whined, which had TJ grinning and playfully bumping Marty’s shoulder with his.

TJ felt as though nothing could ruin the good mood he was put in for the rest of the day, walking happily about the corridors and chatting animatedly with the people in his classes. The sun was shining outside, and there was a virtually clear blue sky.

He was coming out of history when he spotted Cyrus leaned against his locker, tapping away at his phone.

TJ hesitated for a moment before walking over, smiling brightly.

“Hey.”

Cyrus looked up in an instant, clearly startled, and for some reason his frown deepened upon seeing TJ there. He glanced furtively over at Reed and his friends, who TJ hadn’t even noticed were standing close by.

“...Are you okay?” he asked.

Cyrus took a deep breath as though he was psyching himself up to do something, biting his lip and shaking his head. His eyes fluttered shut for a moment before opening again, looking at TJ in a way that seemed unnervingly apologetic.

“Why are you talking to me, Kippen? I don’t care.”

Reed and his friends were looking over now, laughing amongst themselves, and Cyrus’ loud words seemed to have caught the attention of a few other people too, because suddenly there were about ten extra pairs of eyes on them.

TJ could confidently say he had never cared much about what people thought of him. He didn’t get embarrassed a lot, and he had always been relatively unapologetic when it came to expressing himself.

He certainly didn’t think he could ever feel  _this_ humiliated.

Nodding to himself, he stepped away from Cyrus with a bitter laugh.

“You’re an asshole, Cyrus Goodman,” he said quietly, no playfulness whatsoever, before turning around and storming off down the corridor.

He didn’t spare Cyrus another glance that day.

 

~

 

Cyrus slid a note onto TJ’s desk during Geography.

 

_I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it._

 

TJ looked him directly in the eye as he tore it in half, standing up from his chair and dropping the pieces into the bin.

He sent Cyrus a text during lunch.

 

_Then why’d you say it?_

 

~

 

TJ, being the well-adjusted teenager he was, decided to go about his problems as maturely as he possibly could - by avoiding them completely even if it killed him and hoping they’d go away.

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t the most mature decision on his part, but for some reason he just couldn’t handle the idea of visiting Cyrus’ house every other day that week, so he had somehow managed to convince Marty to fill in for him. It took a lot of pleading, but eventually, he agreed to cover for him for a few days.

“Incoming,” he mumbled, prompting Marty to whirl around.

It was Thursday now and he had successfully managed to avoid Cyrus for about 2 and a half days now. He knew however that he’d have to face the music eventually, so when he noticed Cyrus walking toward him in the corridor he sighed and began bracing himself.

“Do you want me to drop-kick him?” Marty asked.

TJ tried to give him a pointed look, but the smile on his lips betrayed him.

“Not really,” he responded with a laugh. “Thanks for the offer though.”

Cyrus reached them a few moments later, his hands shoved in his pockets. His hair was sticking up in all directions, and TJ was about 99% sure he could see smudged mascara under his eyes, but somehow he still managed to look perfect.

He bit his lip. “Can you give us some space, Marty?”

Despite looking hesitant, Marty didn’t argue. Instead, he just sent TJ a reassuring smile and headed down the corridor, presumably to find Amber.

They were alone now - everyone was in the cafeteria - and the only noise filling the air around them was the ticking of a nearby clock. TJ shifted nervously on the spot.

“I told Reed I don’t wanna be friends anymore. I’ve been hanging around Andi instead.”

TJ nodded, offering the boy a small smile. “That’s good.”

Silence fell again. Cyrus let out a heavy exhale.

“You’ve stopped walking the dogs?”

TJ just shrugged. “Why would it matter?”

“Because I miss seeing your stupid face outside my front door,” Cyrus said teasingly.

When all TJ did was raise an eyebrow, Cyrus’ smile dropped again. His gaze shifted towards the ground for a moment.

“TJ - I... _god,_ it’s because I care about you, okay?”

TJ swore his heart skipped a beat. That stupid fluttery feeling was back in his stomach again, and he couldn’t keep from smiling slightly as he processed the words.

“You care about me?”

“Of course I fucking care about you! How could anyone _not_ care about you?”

TJ smirked then, and to his utter surprise, a blush was beginning to bloom on Cyrus’ face. A bright feeling swelled up in his chest, and it felt like a breath of fresh air after the past two days.

“I’m just that irresistible, huh?”

“Shut up,” Cyrus huffed, unable to contain a smile of his own.

They looked at one another for a few lingering moments, before Cyrus moved forward and stood on his tippy toes to wrap an arm around TJ’s shoulders.

“Wanna get ice cream after school?” he asked. “I’ll pay.”

TJ smiled. “Okay, rich boy.”

 

~

 

 **Cyrus:** Hey, wanna come over?

 **TJ:** Sure! I’ll be there in 10.

 

There were butterflies swarming TJ’s stomach as he stood outside Cyrus’ house, wringing his hands together and tugging self-consciously at his shirt. He couldn’t quite describe why, but this visit seemed different from his other visits. The air felt heavier around them when Cyrus opened the door, observing TJ for a lingering moment before stepping aside to let him inside. Dusk had set in by now, and the sky had darkened to pitch black.

TJ stepped inside wordlessly, gently closing the door behind him and toeing off his shoes. He lifted his gaze to meet Cyrus’, swallowing thickly.

“Hi,” he breathed out.

The boy smiled. “Hey.”

Every single one of Cyrus’ movements seemed deliberate. He turned around and headed into the living room, where the blinds were pulled up to reveal the night sky outside. There were candles placed everywhere, and TJ found himself smiling slightly.  _That_  was new.

It had been about three weeks since Cyrus and TJ had gone out for ice-cream, and every one of their interactions seemed to be growing tenser. He had come so ridiculously close to just confessing his feelings, finally filling the silence that would fall between them when one of them said something that was particularly flirty, but he ended up holding back every time. Even  _Marty,_  who took a bit longer to warm up to Cyrus again than TJ had, was being driven slightly insane by the pair and their insistence on dancing around what was between them.

Cyrus moved across the room to hover by the couch, and TJ’s eyes couldn’t help but follow. He was buzzing from head to toe with anticipation, and he could feel his heart hammering away in his chest as a result. Everything felt just as surreal as his first afternoon at this place had.

“Is there a reason you wanted me to come over?”

He tried to keep the implication out of his voice, but he could tell it was quite obviously there. They both could.

Cyrus took a deep, shuddering breath, walking around the couch and running his fingers along it absentmindedly.  

“I guess so.”

“Okay…”

Cyrus nodded, coming to a stop and turning to face TJ. “I like you, TJ. I tried really hard not to, but you just...somehow... _ugh,_ I don’t know.”

The words had been left unsaid between them up until that point, and now that they were finally out in the open he almost didn’t want to believe it.

TJ smiled. There they were - stood in a semi-mansion on opposite sides of a room, apparently confessing their feelings to each other.

“I like you too,” he said, voice gentle.

Cyrus beamed at that, and suddenly the distance between them seemed far too much. TJ crossed the room and moved to stand beside him.

“ _You somehow just...ugh,”_  he teased, earning himself an eye-roll and playful shove.

Silence fell between them for a moment. TJ looked over at Cyrus, who was biting his lip nervously.

“So...what now?”

TJ hummed thoughtfully, taking a small step closer to the boy. “Well...I think most people would kiss in a scenario like this.”

“Would they?” Cyrus challenged, a small smile tugging at his lips.

“I think so, yeah,” TJ breathed, trying hard not to let his nerves show.

Cyrus looked down at the ground then, purposely avoiding eye contact. TJ frowned slightly.

“You okay?”

“I’m nervous,” Cyrus admitted quietly, slowly looking back up at TJ.

“Me too,” TJ assured, and it was true - he could confidently say he had never kissed anyone in his life, and the extent of his knowledge came almost solely from reading wiki how articles.

“Have you kissed anyone?” he added.

“Lots of people,” said Cyrus, catching TJ slightly off guard. “But none of them were you.”

He smiled brightly at that, holding out a hand to Cyrus and gently pulling the boy in when he took it. Cyrus brought his hands up to rest on TJ’s shoulders, biting back a smile.

“Sure you’re okay this?” TJ murmured.

Cyrus nodded, and TJ pressed his lips together for a moment, letting out an audibly shaky exhale. The candles burning around them illuminated the otherwise dark room, and it was just enough for TJ to admire the pair of brown eyes he had spent the past few months convincing himself  _weren’t_ stunning. Cyrus laughed slightly, looping his arms around TJ’s neck and gently pulling him down. He paused right when their faces were inches apart, angling his head to the side, before softly bringing their lips together. TJ’s hands went to Cyrus’ waist, pulling him in, and at that moment he wasn’t thinking about wiki how articles. There was no room for that when Cyrus was holding onto him like this,  _kissing_ him like this.

He kept his hands on Cyrus’ waist when they finally separated for more than a few seconds, both slightly winded.

“...Would now be a bad time to tell you I drew you as a chicken?”

TJ snorted before bursting into laughter, pulling away fully from the boy.

“Wow. How romantic, Cyrus!”

“I’m  _sorry,_ but I might’ve forgotten otherwise!”

“Are you telling me you were thinking about your drawing of me as a chicken while we were  _kissing?!_ ”

“No! Only after!”

They were both laughing still as they made their way upstairs to Cyrus’ art room, and TJ couldn’t help but note how easy this all felt; kissing Cyrus, laughing with Cyrus, talking with Cyrus.

He really  _did_ like this boy - strange chicken drawings and all.

 

~

 

“God, you two have only been together for two days and you’re already  _that_ couple.”

“That power couple?” Cyrus questioned smugly.

“Nope - that gross couple,” Andi teased, smiling when Cyrus let out a dramatic huff.

TJ honestly couldn’t blame her. It was lunchtime and they were sat on the soccer field with Andi, Buffy, Marty, and Amber. It was a sunny day and they had decided to take advantage of it - Cyrus was draped across TJ’s lap wearing sunglasses, fanning himself with the feathered purple fan Amber had lent to him.

“I think your boyfriend has officially reached peak diva,” Buffy informed him with a slight laugh.

‘I think he’s _always_ at peak diva,” TJ said, earning him an offended gasp from Cyrus.

Marty grinned. “That’s probably why you like him so much, TJ.”

“Maybe,” he admitted, smiling as he brushed a stray strand of hair away from Cyrus’ face.

Amber had remained strangely quiet considering how loud she was normally, and a glance over at her confirmed that she was looking at Andi, smiling faintly. TJ smirked and took a mental note to ask Andi for her number at some point because he  _knew_  Amber probably never would.

As the others began to fall into conversation, TJ ran his fingers absentmindedly through Cyrus’ hair.

“Wanna walk Jack and Frankie with me this afternoon?” Cyrus mumbled, his eyes closed.

TJ smiled. “Sure. I guess I’m not only the only dogwalker boy then, huh?”

“Nope! We’re officially the dogwalker boys now.”

“That sounds so lame.”

“ _You_ sound so lame.”

TJ smiled again and leaned down to place a kiss on Cyrus’ cheek.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading - kudos/comments are appreciated if you liked it!


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